We are requesting continued support for our predoctoral training program "Graduate Training in Nutrition". The overall goal of our program is to train individuals to become leading investigators in the field of nutritional science who will contribute substantially to modern biomedical research. The program consists of a highly structured didactic component and a mentored research component. Support from this training grant was the key ingredient that allowed this training program in nutrition to grow from 6 PhD students and 11 faculty in 1989 to its present steady-state size of (30 PhD students and 29 faculty. For the previous grant period, we received support for 5 Ph.D. students per year (plus supplemental support for one underrepresented minority student). Because of the growth and achievements of our training program, we are requesting support for 6 PhD students per year in this renewal application. This training program is broadly focused on the nutritional sciences. The required didactic training consists of graduate level basic science and nutrition courses and all PhD students participate in the Doctoral Seminar and Reviews in Nutrition course throughout their residence in the training program. Most of the faculty have [sic] laboratory based research programs focused on nutrients or nutrition-related diseases like diabetes, obesity, or cardiovascular disease. However, our trainees are also exposed to current research in clinical nutrition and public health nutrition. The strategy of this program is to first provide structured training that is firmly grounded in the basic sciences relevant to modern biomedical research and focused on nutrition and nutrition-related questions. Next, trainees are provided with rigorous mentored research training. This research training takes place in the research groups of one of the productive and well funded independent scientists who comprise the participating training faculty. The data and narrative provided within this application demonstrate that we are training individuals committed to careers in research and teaching, with the fundamental knowledge, skills, and experience that are needed for developing successful, independent nutritional sciences research careers in the 21st Century. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Columbia University Medical Center [sic]